2013 Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir

Our Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir is sourced from
vineyards from four distinct regions within the Santa Cruz
Mountains AVA: the fractured shales of our two Estate Vineyards
high upon Skyline Boulevard, coastal Corralitos, the rugged and
rocky Los Gatos hills and the Summit Road area, which has the
highest elevations in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Each vineyard is
vinified to highlight it’s own signature identity; this blend
harmonizes and intensifies the regional Santa Cruz Mountain
character.

VINTAGE

2013 will go down as one of the earliest harvest in the
history of Thomas Fogarty Winery. The vines responded to the
drought like winter conditions and mild spring by budding out very
early. Bloom began in early May in the Will's Cabin Pinot Noir, a
month earlier than the norm. We experienced a particulary windy May
that was puntuated by a low pressure system that rolled through the
last week of the month dropping almost a quarter-inch of
rain. This severely lowered yields in some of our later flowering,
and best, vineyards: Rapley Trail, Albutom and Portola Springs.
Yields were also likely lower across the board due to the lack of
winter rainfall the last two seasons. The majority of our vineyards
were dry-farmed this year. This resulted in thickers skins, more
tannin and great flavors, but likely less fruit - such is the trade
off between quality and quantity in viticulture. Harvest began with
the early ripening swan Pinot Noir in Will's Cabin on August 17
and, strangley, finished with Gewurztraminer on October
4.

TASTING
NOTES

Sourced from 8 distinctibe districts throughout the
appellation including 10% estate fruit, this wine highlights the
regional characteristics of Santa Cruz Pinot Noir. Dark cherry,
fruit, earth and spice box flavors are long and the texture of the
tannins are evenly balanced.